[To the Editor of the Sem-I . ..Tort.]
Sut,—The correspondence arising out of the Duchess of Atholl's article on Sex Education brings to the fore one or two pressing questions on which the practical experience of the Welsh National Council of the Alliance of Honour may be of interest.
At the request of parents, and under the auspices of the Local Education Authorities, special courses of lessons on sex hygiene—covering the points raised by her Grace and your correspondents—have been given during the last three years by- members of our Welsh staff to nearly 5,000 children aged thirteen plus, in sixty-seven elementary schools. Quest- ionnaires were first sent to parents to ascertain their wishes ;
87 per cent, of those replying desired their children to receive the instruction.
The questions tabulated by Mr. Marralfic—pot by children aged three to five—are repeatedly asked and answered in our classes, and the Alliance or Honour exists to help parent-3 to answer such questions. We should be glad to inform anyone in " precise terms " how we advdeate answering the child ; for though undertaking pioneer work in schools, we feel that the home is the best sphere for sex education --- an ideal towards which we shall always strive.
If this instruction is to be undertaken outside the home. it Should not be made part of the work of any Or every teacher or youth leader. The chief qualifications for teaching this subject are not academic but depend upon a healthy mental attitude towards the subject of sex, without which all other qualifications arc nullified.—I am, Sir, &c.,
ALFRED 13. KENT,
Co-Founder and Secretary-General, The Alliance of Honour. Leysian Chambers, 112 City Road, London, E.C. I.
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